Manufacture of soap



252. COMPOSITIONS,

Patented Sept. 29, 1931 PATENT OFFICE ERNST FLAMMER AND CHRISTIANKELBER, OF HEILBRONN, GERMANY MANUFACTURE OF SOAP K0 Drawing. Originalapplication filed November 16,

1925, Serial No. 69,488. Divided and this application filed August 16,1926. Serial No. 129,657.

This application is a division of application No. 69,488, filed November16, 1925.

The well-known soap powders comprising compounds containing activeoxygen, more particularly containing per-salts, are made by mixing dryfinely powdered soap and per-salts in the form of powder with or withoutaddition of other drywashing agents in powder form.

These soap powders made of dried soap and er-salts become readilydissociated, as the slze of the granules as well as the specific weightof the constituents are different. Moreover the soap in powder-formdissolves quicker than the per-salt when they are employed and there isthus the danger that the less soluble per-salts of greater specificweight settle upon the articles being washed and, forming a concentratedsolution, cause a strong local action and thus a damage to thematerials.

According to the present process, however, water containing soap is usedfor the manufacture of soap flakes or soap bands containing per-salts.The soap with a relatively low water content, for instance from 8 to 14%water, are exceedingly brittle when used alone. It appeared to us thatit would not be possible to form the soap into thin flakes or the likewhen adding per-salts to the soa The form of thin flakes or the like isof particular advantage, as it ensures a uniform solution of the soapand of the per-salts contained therein. In this form it is not possiblefor perborate granules liberated from the soap envelope to produce astrongly concentrated local bleaching solution which would cause holesto be formed in the articles being washed.

According to the present process soap having a small water content, sayfrom 8 to 1 1% water, is intimately mixed with compounds in powder form,containing active oxygen, particularly per-salts, the mixture is thenrolled out thin in rolling machines and cut up in a cutting machine intosmall pieces in flake form. The essential feature of the present processconsists in mixing soap having a small water content and persalts, andbringing these mixtures into a form which with certainty prevents theconstituents becoming dissociated, which would cause damage to thearticles being washed, and ensures an exceedingly ready solubility.

The manufacture of flakes or bands of soap mixed with salts particularlyper-salts has certain special advantages, if these flakes or bands aremade translucent, as is the case according to various modifications ofthe present invention. Hitherto it has not been possible to make eithernon-translucent or translucent bands from such a mixture. The applicantshave discovered, that translucent flakes or bands may be made, if thefatty acids required for the manufacture of the soaps contain a fairlylarge percentage of acids of the formula C H O and C H O With such anaddition of acids a uniform band is formed on the rolls, from whichreadily soluble, translucent flakes or bands may be produced. Lesssaturated acids, for instance those of the formula C H O are notsuitable for use as additions to these soaps, when per-salts, there is adanger of the formation of organic peroxides.

The products obtained with the admixture of the said acids aretranslucent and elastic and dissolve uniformly and readily. In this waysoaps containing considerable quantities of salts or mixtures of saltsin a suitable quantity may be made in the form of thin translucent,elastic flakes.

The invention is carried out for instance in the following manner:

1. A soap is made, the fatty acid mixture of which contains lauric andmyristic acid along with 35% ricinolcic acid. The soap thus produced isdried, mixed with 20% sodium perborate and rolled in the rollingmachine. Translucent flakes are obtained, which are readily soluble,even in cold water.

2. A soap is made, the fatty acid mixture of which contains lauric,myristic and palmitic acid together with erucic acid: this soap is driedand mixed with 15% sodium perborate. After rolling in the rollingmachine translucent, readily soluble flakes are obtained.

In place of the one definite salt mixtures of salts particularlyper-salts may of course be used. The selection of the acid to be added(for instance ricinoleic acid or erucic) depends on the kind andquantity of the combined salts particularly per-salts or mixtures ofsalts, particularly per-salts.

Another modification in the manufacture of translucent flakes or handsfrom a mixture of soap having a small water content and containing saltsgiving off oxygen consists in adding to the mixture hydrocarbons havingthe formula C H and C H w1th at least ten carbon atoms or theiroxy-comounds, free or in the form of their esters. Flore stronglyunsaturated hydrocarbons, for instance those having the formula C IL arenot suitable, as they do not obviate the danger of the decomposition ofthe compounds which give off oxygen. In this case only the acidsmentioned above are suitable.

In this modified form the invention may for instance be carried out asfollows:

Ea-mnpZc 1.To a mixture of a soap having 84% fatty acid and sodiumperborate the cetyl ester of palmitic acid is added, for instance 4%,and after the said ester has been mixed with the mixture of soap andcompounds containing oxygen the mixture thus obtained is passed througha rolling machine, the lower roll of which is heated. Bands of goodtranslucent-e are obtained.

Example 2.To the mixture of dried soap and oxygen-containing compoundsis added for instance 5% of readily oxidized paraflin which by treatmentwith alkali is freed from the free fatty acid formed, the ingredientsare mixed and the entire mixture is passed through the rolling machine.Smooth translucent flakes are obtained after the bands have beensuitably divided. The oxidized paraflin may however be previously addedto the water-containing soap. In that case the soap is first dried andworked up together with the oxygen-containing compound into flakes.

A third modification of the manufacture of translucent flakes or bandsfrom soap mixed with salts consists in using for the manufacture of thesoaps fatty acids which are partially converted into potassium salts, sothat the soap which has a small water content or has been dried therewill constitute a mixture of potash and soda soaps. If this mixtureconsisting of potash-soda soaps be mixed with salts which give offoxygen translucent and sufliciently elastic products may be made. Suchoxygen-yielding salts are the perbora-tes and the percarbonates. Thefollowing is an example of the manufacture of such a soap:

A soap mixture is made containing 17% potash soaps and 83% soda soapsand the mixture is dried. To 80 parts of this dried soap mixture forinstance 20 parts of sodium perborate are used and these raw materialsare then intimately mixed together. A mlxture of potash-soda soaps isthus obtained with the addition of sodium perborate, which is passedthrough the rolling machine, and leaves it in the form of a smooth,elastic and translucent band, which may readily be cut up into elasticand translucent flakes.

This modification is not restricted to the limits of 17 potash and soapsand 83% soda soaps given in the above example and also not to theproportion of the soap mixture with the salts there given. The mixturesof salts may be used in place of the salt and the percentage of potashsoaps may vary according to the kind and quantity of the added salt. Theproportions of the soap mixture of potash and soda soaps will be chosenaccording to the kind and quantity of the added salt or mixtures ofsalts used.

Thus the main idea underlying the present invention consists in this,that for making soaps into a stable mixture with salts giving off oxygensoap having a water content of less than 15% has for the first time beenused. Hitherto it has been assumed that the soap should be completelydry, in order to prevent the destruction of the persalts: it had nothowever been found possible to make bands or flakes from the dry soapcombined with the per-salts, For the same reason it had been found stillmore difficult to make translucent flakes or bands, such as can be madeaccording to the present invention. even with completely dried soap.

The above description should not be understood as limiting but ratherdescriptive of the best mode of carrying out our invention, which weclaim to be:

1. A process for the manufacture of translucent soap flakes whichcomprises forming a mixture of sodium and potassium soaps, incorporatingtherewith a per-salt and forming the mass into flakes.

2. A process for the manufacture of translucent soap flakes whichcomprises forming a mixture of sodium and potassium soaps, incorporatingtherewith a perborateand forming the mass into flakes.

3. A process for the manufacture of translucent soap flakes whichcomprises partially converting the fatty acid constituents of a soapstock into potassium soaps and forming sodium soap from the remainingfatty acid constituents, partially drying said soap and incorporating aper-salt with the partially dry soap.

4. A process for the manufacture of translucent soap flakes whichcomprises partially converting the fatty acid constituents of a soapstock into potassium soaps and forming sodium soap from the remainingfatty acid constituents, partially drying said 252. COMPOSITIONS,

soap, and incorporating a perborate with the partially dry soap.

5. A process for the manufacture of translucent soap flakes whichcomprises forming a mixture of sodium and potassium soaps containingwater but less than 15% thereof incorporating therewith a per-salt andforming the mass into flakes.

6. A process for the manufacture of translucent soap flakes whichcomprises forming a mixture of sodium and potassium soaps containingwater but less than 15% thereof and incorporating therewith a perborateand forming the mass into flakes.

7. A composition of matter which comprises soap flakes containing asodium soap, a potassium soap and a per-salt.

8. A composition of matter which comprises soap flakes containing asodium soap, a potassium soap and a perborate.

9. A composition of matter which comprises soap flakes containing amixture of a sodium soap and a potassium soap, water but less than 15%thereof and a per-salt.

10. A composition of matter which comprises soap fiakes containing amixture of a sodium soap and a potassium soap, water but less than 15%thereof and a perborate.

In testimony whereof we aflix our signatures.

ERNST FLAMMER. CHRISTIAN KELBER.

